DESCRIPTION:
Shrub to 8'. Plant is dioecious with female plants bearing many seeds
inside 4 winglike bracts; flowers are very small and yellowish. Chenopodiaceae
(Goosefoot) Family.
NATURAL HISTORY: Flowers bloom July to August. As the name suggests, saltbush
can tolerate salty soils by excreting salts out its leaves, giving its
leaves a salty taste. Seeds and foliage eaten by wildlife and humans.
Uses C4 photosynthesis, improving
its use of water and allowing more rapid photosynthesis under the intense,
desert sun.